Chapter 23 Ginny Was Missing
The woman was easygoing. As soon as Ryan explained the situation, she agreed without hesitation.
Chandler was just as worried. Seeing Ryan take the lead, he decided to wait by the restroom for news.
That was when Melody walked out.
2 min left
The sight of Chandler standing there made her panic. She’d already left a bad impression last time–he couldn’t find out that Ginny was locked up.
She clutched her ankle and winced, calling out in a pained voice, “Chandler, my ankle really hurts. Could you take me to get it checked out?”
Chandler’s mind was still preoccupied with Ginny, but seeing Melody sweating and clearly in discomfort, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
As he helped her up, he glanced at Ryan and said, “Make sure she gets home early.”
Ryan let out a cold laugh. He thought Chandler was trying to have his cake and eat it too. “I can get her home early. The real question is, will you be able to go home?”
“You-” Chandler started to speak, but Melody moaned again.
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→→→→ 2 min left
After a beat of hesitation, he led her toward the underground parking lot.
Right after Chandler left, the woman who’d gone into the restroom returned. “There’s no one in there. Maybe your friend already left?”
If Ginny had left the restroom, she would’ve returned to the reception. And there was only one path from the restroom back to the ballroom–there was no way they’d have missed each other.
Ryan thanked the woman and, growing more uneasy by the second, pulled out his phone to call Ginny.
But it wasn’t Ginny who picked up–it was Professor Edward.
She had left her phone at the event.
That confirmed it: Ginny hadn’t left. If she had, she definitely would’ve come back for her phone. And yet–she was nowhere to be found.
Ryan’s gut twisted.
Something had happened.
His mind flashed to the time Melody and her brother had kidnapped Ginny before. His expression darkened instantly.
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(2 min left
“Melody,” he muttered under his breath, voice low and cold. “You’d better have nothing to do with this. If you do, I swear I’ll make the Wheeler family pay.”
He clenched his fists and forced himself to stay calm, running through next steps.
“Hey,” he barked into his phone, “get everyone upstairs. I want one team at the surveillance center combing footage, and the rest of you–search the building, floor by floor.”
By the time he hung up, his eyes were like ice.
People coming in and out of the restroom corridor caught a glimpse of him. Those who weren’t in a rush backed away in fear. The ones who were slipped inside, waiting for him to leave before daring to come back out.
*****
“So cold…”
Ginny came to with a shiver.
She opened her eyes and saw a storage room full of clutter. Her hands were bound behind a cabinet, her mouth stuffed so she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t call out.
The room was dark and damp, with no heat at all. And she was still wearing her formal dress. The chill cut right through her.
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(2 min left
She was freezing–so cold it felt like she might lose the ability to speak.
But she knew she couldn’t give up. If she did, she’d freeze to death right here.
She began jerking her wrists, trying to break the rope.
But Melody had used an unusually strong cord. No matter how hard Ginny struggled, it wouldn’t give.
Worse, her effort had reopened the wound on her arm. Blood smeared across the cabinet.
*****
“Chandler, don’t go.”
Chandler had just dropped Melody off at her place and was ready to leave when she wrapped her arms around him from behind.
“I love you so much,” she whispered over and over. “Please don’t leave me.”
“You’re tired. Get some rest.” Chandler pried her hands off and turned to go.
But Melody clung to him, and the moment he tried to pull away,
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she began to cry.
1 min left
“I’m not trying to pressure you,” she sobbed. “I just want you to be happy. You’ve looked so down these past few days. Seeing you like that—it hurts me more than anything. If I had known how hard it was for you these past few years, I never would’ve gone abroad. Then, when your grandparents wanted you to get married-”
“Let’s not bring up the past.” Chandler took advantage of her distraction, gently pulling her arms away and guiding her to lie down. “Sleep. I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”
Melody knew his temperament well. Push too hard and he’d only resist. It was fine–for now, he was here. The rest she could handle slowly.
She just wondered whether that bitch Ginny would survive the night.
*****
“Ginny, where are you?”
“Ginny! If you can hear me, say something!”
“Ginny!”
Ryan’s team had searched every floor. Only the ballroom level
remained.
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1 min left
She had to be here.
But there were too many rooms. He no longer had the patience to check each one.
The crowd had mostly cleared. And then–he started yelling.
The sound cut through the silence.
Ginny, half–unconscious from the cold, heard it.
She forced herself to stay awake. Then, using everything she had left, she shoved the shelving behind her with all her might.
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